Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop, Intel Core i7-9750H, GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, 15.6" Full HD 144Hz Display, 3ms Response Time, 16GB DDR4, 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD, RGB Backlit Keyboard, PH315-52-710B

GAMING:Witcher 3 - I can comfortably (with turbo mode ON, otherwise GPU hit 90+ C) play on maximum/high settings, with the GPU (and CPU) being well within acceptable range. Very smooth game play (At least 60fps, although I don't know how to get an FPS counter in it [Steam FPS counter doesn't work in it]).OW/BL2/Other FPS - No turbo mode required, maximum settings, easily hits 144fps.TV/YOUTUBE/MUSIC:Screen is great, obviously. Sound is fine.WORK/SCHOOL:It is quite on idle, but a bit of noise with multiple tabs/Word docs. open - but with a professor talking or other students typing, was never a concern. But sometimes I did feel a bit obnoxious in the library. But only a bit.With earbuds in, can't hear any laptop fan noises (with turbo on, ofc, it's a different story).BUILD QUALITY AND KEYBOARD:I can hold and handle the laptop anyways I want - it's that solid. Feels premium to me. It does, as shown in Jarrod's video, get your grubby finger prints all over it, and plus the kind of gamery (still low key) logo on the front + the big vents, PLUS the bit of fan noise, it may not be for you if you're doing office work in a very quite environment, around other people.The KEYBOARD is fantastic! It is sturdy, with zero noticeable flex. I do a lot of typing, and coming from the great Mac keyboard, this keyboard is still GREAT.Dedicated turbo key is nice, when I use it (looking at you, Witcher 3).Keyboard/laptop does have some sharp edges and very infrequently do need to shift my wrists (but again, it's really not a problem).Trackpad is, like the videos show, sufficient, but not very good.BATTERY:I only game with it plugged in, and have not had any problems yet.When I take it with me to class, I get it to like 50% ish after a 2hr class, with multiple tabs (whatsapp, amazon, gmail, and of course word docs) open. To be very safe, I would say three hours of use without battery, but even that is probably on the lower end.CAMERA:It's fine, lol. Nothing special. Gets Zoom done fine.OVERALL:Great laptop for both gaming and work. Easily hits 144fps, great laptop (no flex), sturdy build, decent charge. But, like every gaming laptop, can be rather loud, has a bad trackpad, beefy charger, slightly gamery look. A lot of good competition out there now (Razorblade 15, new HP Omen 15, Lenovo Legion, etc), but the keyboard on the Helios 300 is the best, so it seems to me. Also, it has the most reviews so is the most reliable at the moment.Very satisfied with my purchase. You will be too.

EDIT 2/14/23: Still going strong today. I wonder if anyone is still looking at reviews for this? Regardless, I think I would happily buy a Helios again based on my experience with this one.EDIT 9/4/2021: Wanted to say that this is still going strong a year later. For the price, it was (still is) definitely an unbeatable computer. The newer Helios models have RTX instead of GTX like this one but this computer is more than enough for me.EDIT 6/9/2020: Little late on the update! The second machine I received has been fine. It can render videos quickly and has better battery life than I expected.EDIT 4/3/2020: I received the replacement and at least got through the setup with no problem. I’ll update this again in a month as my final statement on this product. If it has any issues at all, it’ll be getting returned and I’ll never buy Acer again. I can say that the screen is beautiful, the sound is great, and the keys have a lovely soft type to them. The real test will be in how it works though so I will be putting it through the real test this month with intensive video editing and gaming. Check back for an update!I got this, plugged it in to charge a while, then sat down to set it up. No problems as I went through the Windows 10 setup until... The screen went black. The port where the power source was plugged in wasn’t lighting up. Just a total brick. Completely puzzled! I wrote in to Amazon CS and a replacement is already on the way and I’ll be returning this one. I really hope this was just one stroke of bad luck because for the few moments I got to see the screen and type on the keyboard, it was a lovely experience.REALLY hoping for better luck with the replacement. It’s due to arrive Saturday. Predator came so highly recommended that I’m willing to give the replacement a chance because I was thrilled with the look but i can’t really use a paperweight that’s quite that expensive.

The value of this laptop can't be understated. There are no real weaknesses here. The only notable problems people may have with it are the fan noise while gaming and the lack of "silent" fan operation when not gaming. You won't notice the idle whirl of fans unless you are in a completely silent room with no music or headphones in play.Besides that, the gaming performance is top-notch. Handles all games on high with zero problems at 60+fps. The notoriously poorly-optimized Cyberpunk ran at medium-high for me with 60-70fps. Solid.The trackpad is good, well-positioned. The keyboard has good travel and is fairly quiet. I bought this primarily for the keyboard and screen, which most laptops are bottom-tier these days on both fronts. The numberpad is nice, I wish there was a way to fit the 0 key two-wide, but that's not important, just typist quirks. The screen is plenty bright for any indoor situation, does fine outside under indirect sun, thanks to the lack of glossy coating. The 144hz is nice for older games or some buttery-smooth indy sidescrollers.The weight of this laptop is obvious, but not unbearable. I like the fact that this laptop doesn't feel cheap. The plastic shell on the bottom is hard and strong. If I dropped this thing like a complete fool, I think it would survive 2-3 feet without a break--maybe a chip or dent.Overall, for me, this laptop is unbeatable in this price range. With the reviews of higher-end laptops, it sounds like you'd be wasting money for 5-10fps difference if you look at. Remember, there's only so much you can do within the power limits of a laptop.